phantom...

u_c_thesecond

Hi all

Ive always enjoyed musicals... joseph, grease , hairspray... and i ADORE glee(maybe not a good thing here as its a tv show ) But my sister made me watch phantom of the opera (the one with gerard butler) And im
A D D I C T E D!

i didnt know what a beautiful story it was, the music is stunning, i love "Masquerade" its one of my favourite songs from it. The story makes me cry espically when the phantoms singing to the monkey chime at the end. My sister may be a pain but she knows whats brilliant and this is!!!

Love never dies is out- and i have the soundtrack and im drooling with how good it is!!!!:D

athtrasna

Phantom is arguably ALW's masterpiece and a wonderful musical. Have you seen it live yet? It has an overture that gets the hairs standing on the back of your neck, and the magic continues from there all the way through. I also love Masquerade.

However, Love Never Dies (aka Paint Never Dries) is just not in the same league. The story is all over the place and the music lacks the power of Phantom, it's a very forgettable show in my opinion.

silat liam

I saw "Love Never Dies" a few weeks back, thou not as good at "Phantom of teh Opera" tbh a very hard act to follow, I still thought it was a very good musical. I think maybe a few bits especially at start need tighting up. It was also good to see what happen to the characters, and the twist to the story.
Brilliant lead singer.

Teasey

I have a bit of a problem with Phantom. I've always loved the music, it was one of the first I ever heard and was probably partly responsible for getting me into musicals in the first place when I was a kid. The overture still gives me a shiver down my spine 20 years later

However, I saw it live for the first time in London last month and I have to admit I came away slightly disappointed. Now, there's no saying it's not a fantastic production because it is. The sets, the costumes, the chandelier.... Fabulous. But I couldn't help but feel that the the whole thing felt slightly dated. It's obvious that they haven't changed a thing since the mid 80's when the show started - and I know you might say don't fix what's not broken but I think it needs a little something. The Phantom's make-up in particular was very poor. Maybe that worked in 1986 but I think there surely must have been some advances in stage make up in the last 25 years that could produce something better...

I still love the show and I would never discourage anyone from going to see it. But I wanted it to be 100% amazing and it just came in short in my opinion

witchgirl26

I love Phantom. Probably my ultimate favourite musical. I've seen it twice live now - once in Las Vegas and once in London. It is just fantastic live I think. I don't agree that the London show is dated but it did seem a little less spectacular to me than the Vegas production. However that could be because the theatre in Vegas was specifically designed by ALW and others for Phantom so has a big wow factor going on. Plus its Vegas.

I agree with silat liam - I saw Love Never Dies back last June & although it'll never replace Phantom in my heart, I did think it was good. The problem lies in people comparing it to Phantom too much. And people forget that Phantom didn't recieve a great critical response either upon opening. Course they've changed some of the bits in Love Never Dies since I saw it (order of songs etc), in line with feedback from people who saw it.
Silat liam - was it the male or female lead singer you were referring to. The male, Ramin Karimiloo (sp?) is amazing & has played the phantom before as well as having played Rouel.

athtrasna

witchgirl26 wrote: »

I love Phantom. Probably my ultimate favourite musical. I've seen it twice live now - once in Las Vegas and once in London. It is just fantastic live I think. I don't agree that the London show is dated but it did seem a little less spectacular to me than the Vegas production. However that could be because the theatre in Vegas was specifically designed by ALW and others for Phantom so has a big wow factor going on. Plus its Vegas.

Phantom in Vegas sucks IMO To make the show fit into the 90 minute run time they've BUTCHERED the score, you don't even get the full overture (one of the best of all shows). They've taken scenes out too and it doesn't really make sense. Yes the effects are a bit more spectacular but it's not the full production.

I think the issue with London is it's longevity. There's only so long you can put the same show on 8 times a week, 52 weeks of the years and keep it looking fresh for.

silat liam

witchgirl26 wrote: »

Silat liam - was it the male or female lead singer you were referring to. The male, Ramin Karimiloo (sp?) is amazing & has played the phantom before as well as having played Rouel.

Hi,

Yeah it was Ramin I was referring to, he has such a great voice, I think he was in Les Miserables to, definately he helps makes the show.

witchgirl26

athtrasna wrote: »

Phantom in Vegas sucks IMO To make the show fit into the 90 minute run time they've BUTCHERED the score, you don't even get the full overture (one of the best of all shows). They've taken scenes out too and it doesn't really make sense. Yes the effects are a bit more spectacular but it's not the full production.

I think the issue with London is it's longevity. There's only so long you can put the same show on 8 times a week, 52 weeks of the years and keep it looking fresh for.

To be honest, the Vegas version was the first I saw so I was impressed with it just because of what it was. Also the staging aspect (ignoring the cutting of scenes/songs) is very impressive. I do agree though that it's not the full production & when I saw the version in London, I wished that they could have had the staging of Vegas with the production of London combined. I agree with you on the longevity for London.

silat liam wrote: »

Hi,

Yeah it was Ramin I was referring to, he has such a great voice, I think he was in Les Miserables to, definately he helps makes the show.

He has an amazing voice alright. I think he was in Les Mis at some point. I've also heard his version of Music of the Night & it's one of the best I've ever heard. I really like Sienna Borgess' voice as well in the show. They compliment each other well. Haven't heard the woman who's taken over from Sienna so can't comment on her voice.

Aoifums

Am I the only one who can't stand the movie version of Phantom? Gerard Butler ruins it for me. He looks fantastic but his voice just isn't up to scratch.

Seeing Phantom live still takes my breath away. I've seen it four times in the last five years and I still love it. Love Never Dies wasn't great but it still had a few good songs in it. I was right about characters all along!

I've always hated Raoul

I'm not sure if I'd go to see it again but it was brilliant to see it.

fonpokno

Aoifums wrote: »

Am I the only one who can't stand the movie version of Phantom? Gerard Butler ruins it for me. He looks fantastic but his voice just isn't up to scratch.

Seeing Phantom live still takes my breath away. I've seen it four times in the last five years and I still love it. Love Never Dies wasn't great but it still had a few good songs in it. I was right about characters all along!

I've always hated Raoul

I'm not sure if I'd go to see it again but it was brilliant to see it.

No I hate it too! Gerard Butler is not Phantom material at all at all. I don't know what they were thinking casting him. Emmy Rossum's lip syncing is desperate too I think. The film really really annoyed me.

I've only seen Phantom once but I want to go to London over the summer and see it again. Along with every other show on in the West End tbh. If only I had money...

Rhalliord

Aoifums wrote: »

Am I the only one who can't stand the movie version of Phantom? Gerard Butler ruins it for me. He looks fantastic but his voice just isn't up to scratch.

Seeing Phantom live still takes my breath away. I've seen it four times in the last five years and I still love it. Love Never Dies wasn't great but it still had a few good songs in it. I was right about characters all along!

I've always hated Raoul

I'm not sure if I'd go to see it again but it was brilliant to see it.

You probably wont get the chance to see it again, as it is closingin a few weeks

emeraldstar

Rhalliord wrote: »

You probably wont get the chance to see it again, as it is closingin a few weeks

Hardly a few weeks! More like 10

Aoifums

Rhalliord wrote: »

You probably wont get the chance to see it again, as it is closingin a few weeks

I didn't know that :eek: It probably says that on this thread and all. I'm so blind! I'll be in London before then just without the cash to blow on a theatre ticket

Pythia

I saw Phantom in Vegas and I was impressed. It was just the right length for me and my boyfriend who is new to musicals. The staging is amazing and the venue is incredible. We also managed to get tickets for cheaper than half price just under the chandelier. Not sure I'd have liked to have paid full price!